Baseball bat with sliding contact zone

ABSTRACT

The invention as describe herein details a swing training device for teaching a baseball or softball player the proper swing mechanics. The device consists of a handle, a sliding contact zone and a rod which is connected to the handle and forms the means for the sliding contact zone to move. The idea of this trainer is to swing the device such that the sliding contact zone moves from just above the hands at the start of the swing to the end of the bat (top stop) at approximately the same time that contact is made with the ball. This device is designed and meant to be used in real hitting situations such as batting practice, batting tee practice and all types of hitting drills where the ball is tossed or pitched.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisionalapplication No. 61/209,791 filed Mar. 11, 2009.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention involves the use of a bat like device whichcontains a sliding contact zone for the purpose of forcing the hands toswing down on the ball and thus forcing the slide to travel down the batshaft to the end, where contact with the ball is made. Contacting theball with the sliding contact zone would teach the batter the properswing mechanics. The device and method is meant to be used in a livebatting situation, batting tee practice and all types of hitting drillswhere the ball is tossed or pitched.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many devices have been presented over the history of baseball to teachthe batter the proper and most efficient way to swing a baseball bat.One such device is shown and explained in US2004/0048696 where theweight is placed just above the hands so when swung the weight willslide forward and contact the top portion of the device, thus making asound that will be indicative of the swing velocity. While swingvelocity can be equated to power transfer to the ball, it is not anindication of swing technique or proper mechanics.

Various other devices have been developed to show the batter when hereaches a certain velocity or are useful to maximize the velocity. Ingeneral these devices use sliding weights or springs to load and measurethe force generated by the batter during the swing.

The piece that is missing from all of these devices is the timing aspectof the swing and making contact at the exact moment that the batvelocity reaches its maximum point. Such a method would teach the batternot only where the maximum velocity is reached but also where to makecontact with the ball.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 shows the swing training device of this invention in the readyposition. This would be the starting point from which a batter wouldstart with the device held over his right shoulder (for a right handedbatter) with his hands on the handle (1)

FIG. 2 shows the device as the sliding contact zone (2) is started inmotion down the rod (3) by the action of the batter starting to swing.The movement of the hands from above the shoulder down towards the beltof the batter forces the sliding zone to lose contact with the bottomstop (4).

FIG. 3 shows the point of contact where the sliding contact zone (2)reaches the top stop (5) at approximately the same instant contact withthe ball (6) is made. If the swing is executed correctly contact withthe stop and ball will occur over the strike zone.

FIG. 4 shows the attachment of the handle to the rod portion of thetraining device such that a standard baseball or softball bat can beattached via the male (7) and female (8) threaded union.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The method swinging a bat to generate the most power and propermechanics involves the use of a modified bat designed for live battingpractice. Such a device is prepared by cutting the handle from a woodenor aluminum bat and mounting a solid pole into the handle portion. Thebarrel of the bat (typically the flat portion when viewed cross-wise) iscut from the wood or aluminum bat and a hole is drilled longitudinallythrough the barrel section. The hole will be just slightly larger thanthe diameter of the rod which has been placed into the handle portion.

The rod will have some device for stopping the barrel from sliding toofar down the rod so as to not hit the hands of the batter (lower stop,4) and also from sliding off the rod (away from the hands) and comingoff the end (upper stop, 5). The overall length and weigh of the device,as described above, will be as close to the original bat as possible.

The method of using this device will involve placing the hands on theegrip as one would normally do for a wooden or aluminum bat. The slidingcontact zone will rest on the lower stop as the bat is placed in theready position (this is with the hands held high and just over thebatter's right shoulder for a right handed person). As the batter startsthe swing the hands immediately drop towards the batters belt thuscausing the contact zone to start sliding towards the end of the device.As the bat is accelerated towards the strike zone, the sliding contactzone is approaching the end of the bat. If done correctly the slidingcontact zone will reach the end of the bat at the same instant thatcontact is made with the ball.

In one embodiment of this invention the lower stop will contain smallmagnets that will engage similar magnets in the sliding contact zone soas to prevent the sliding contact zone from moving prematurely. Inanother embodiment, the sliding contact zone will be made fashioned asif it were an aluminum bat barrel.

In another embodiment of this invention, the handle of the bat will beattached to the rod portion containing the sliding contact zone suchthat the handle can be removed and replaced with a traditional bat end.This will allow the device to be quickly and easily changed from abatting practice tool to a functioning baseball (or softball) bat havingthe same weight and feel. One way to accomplish this transformation isto make the attachment via a male (7) and female (8) threaded union (seeFIG. 4). The standard bat portion of the device can be configured as abaseball bat, softball bat or cricket bat.

While the device of this invention can be used to practice good swingmechanics without the use of a ball, the true value of this device isthat it can withstand the impact of hitting a regulation hard ball, evenat batting practice pitching speeds. Of course one could also use asofter tennis ball for younger players. Additionally the device andmethod of this invention can be used for softball training as well asbaseball practice. In one embodiment of this invention the device isused in live batting practice. For purposes of this application, livebatting practice is defined as any situation where the ball is tossed orpitched to the batter.

1) A swing training device for teaching proper swing mechanicscomprising a handle portion, a rod portion and a sliding contact zone.2) The device of claim on wherein the device has a weight and a lengthof a traditional bat. 3) The device of claim 1 wherein the rod furthercontains a top and bottom stop to restrict the sliding contact zonedistance of travel. 4) The device of claim 3 wherein the bottom stopcontains a means for holding the sliding contact zone until the devicehas reached a minimum swing speed. 5) The device of claim 4 wherein themeans for holding the sliding contact zone are a plurality of magnetsmounted in the bottom stop and the sliding contact zone. 6) The slidingcontact zone of claim 1 wherein the sliding contact zone has the samesize and shape as a regulation bat. 7) The sliding contact zone of claim6 wherein the contact zone is made from wood or aluminum. 8) A method ofteaching proper swing mechanics using the device of claim 1 comprisingthe steps of placing a batter's hands on the handle portion of thedevice, positioning the hands and device in the proper position abovethe batter's shoulder, starting a swing by bringing the hands downtowards the batter's belt causing a sliding contact zone to start toslide down the rod toward a top stop, and continuing the swing such thatthe sliding contact zone reaches the top stop at approximately the sametime that contact is made with a ball. 9) The use of the swing trainingdevice of claim 1 where the training device is used for live batterpractice. 10) The device of claim 1 wherein the handle portion isattached to the rod portion by a male and a female threaded union. 11)The device claim 10 wherein the rod portion is replaced with atraditional bat end. 12) The device of claim 11 wherein the bat end ischosen from the group consisting of a baseball bat end, a softball batend or a cricket bat end.